N-person differential games governed by infinite-dimensional systems

This paper discussesN-person differential games governed by infinite-dimensional systems. The minimax principle, which is a necessary condition for the existence of open-loop equilibrium strategies, is proved. For linear-quadraticN-person differential games, global necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of open-loop and closed-loop equilibrium strategies are derived.This work was supported by the Science Fund of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Research Foundation of Purdue University.The problems discussed in this paper were proposed by Professor G. Chen, during the author's visit to Pensylvania State University, and were completed at Purdue University. The author would like to thank Professors L. D. Berkovitz and G. Chen for their hospitality.     

On a class of nonzero-sum,linear-quadratic differential games

A class of two-player, nonzero-sum, linear-quadratic differential games is investigated for Nash equilibrium solutions when both players use closed-loop control and when one or both of the players are required to use open-loop control. For three formulations of the game, necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained for a particular strategy set to be a Nash equilibrium strategy set. For a fourth formulation of the game, where both players use open-loop control, necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a Nash equilibrium strategy set are developed. Several examples are presented in order to illustrate the differences between this class of differential games and its zero-sum analog.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. GK-3341.     

Identification of classes of differential games for which the open loop is a degenerate feedback Nash equilibrium

In general, it is clear that open-loop Nash equilibrium and feedback Nash equilibrium do not coincide. In this paper, we study the structure of differential games and develop a technique using which we can identify classes of games for which the open-loop Nash equilibrium is a degenerate feedback equilibrium. This technique clarifies the relationship between the assumptions made on the structure of the game and the resultant equilibrium.The author would like to thank E. Dockner, A. Mehlmann, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments.     

A BSDE approach to Nash equilibrium payoffs for stochastic differential games with nonlinear cost functionals

In this paper, we study Nash equilibrium payoffs for two-player nonzero-sum stochastic differential games via the theory of backward stochastic differential equations. We obtain an existence theorem and a characterization theorem of Nash equilibrium payoffs for two-player nonzero-sum stochastic differential games with nonlinear cost functionals defined with the help of doubly controlled backward stochastic differential equations. Our results extend former ones by Buckdahn et al. (2004) [3] and are based on a backward stochastic differential equation approach.     

Singular mean-field control games

This article studies singular mean field control problems and singular mean field two-players stochastic differential games. Both sufficient and necessary conditions for the optimal controls and for the Nash equilibrium are obtained. Under some assumptions the optimality conditions for singular mean-field control are reduced to a reflected Skorohod problem, whose solution is proved to exist uniquely. Motivations are given as optimal harvesting of stochastic mean-field systems, optimal irreversible investments under uncertainty and mean-field singular investment games. In particular, a simple singular mean-field investment game is studied, where the Nash equilibrium exists but is not unique.     

Asymptotic Analysis of Linear Feedback Nash Equilibria in Nonzero-Sum Linear-Quadratic Differential Games

In this paper, we discuss nonzero-sum linear-quadratic differential games. For this kind of games, the Nash equilibria for different kinds of information structures were first studied by Starr and Ho. Most of the literature on the topic of nonzero-sum linear-quadratic differential games is concerned with games of fixed, finite duration; i.e., games are studied over a finite time horizon t _f. In this paper, we study the behavior of feedback Nash equilibria for t _f.In the case of memoryless perfect-state information, we study the so-called feedback Nash equilibrium. Contrary to the open-loop case, we note that the coupled Riccati equations for the feedback Nash equilibrium are inherently nonlinear. Therefore, we limit the dynamic analysis to the scalar case. For the special case that all parameters are scalar, a detailed dynamical analysis is given for the quadratic system of coupled Riccati equations. We show that the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the Riccati equations depends strongly on the specified terminal values. Finally, we show that, although the feedback Nash equilibrium over any fixed finite horizon is generically unique, there can exist several different feedback Nash equilibria in stationary strategies for the infinite-horizon problem, even when we restrict our attention to Nash equilibria that are stable in the dynamical sense.     

Linear–quadratic stochastic two-person nonzero-sum differential games: Open-loop and closed-loop Nash equilibria

In this paper, we consider a linear–quadratic stochastic two-person nonzero-sum differential game. Open-loop and closed-loop Nash equilibria are introduced. The existence of the former is characterized by the solvability of a system of forward–backward stochastic differential equations, and that of the latter is characterized by the solvability of a system of coupled symmetric Riccati differential equations. Sometimes, open-loop Nash equilibria admit a closed-loop representation, via the solution to a system of non-symmetric Riccati equations, which could be different from the outcome of the closed-loop Nash equilibria in general. However, it is found that for the case of zero-sum differential games, the Riccati equation system for the closed-loop representation of an open-loop saddle point coincides with that for the closed-loop saddle point, which leads to the conclusion that the closed-loop representation of an open-loop saddle point is the outcome of the corresponding closed-loop saddle point as long as both exist. In particular, for linear–quadratic optimal control problem, the closed-loop representation of an open-loop optimal control coincides with the outcome of the corresponding closed-loop optimal strategy, provided both exist.     

A class of differential games for which the closed-loop and open-loop Nash equilibria coincide

It is well known that, in general, Nash equilibria in open-loop strategies do not coincide with those in closed-loop strategies. This note identifies a class of differential games in which the Nash equilibrium in closed-loop strategies is degenerate, in the sense that it depends on time only. Consequently, the closed-loop equilibrium is also an equilibrium in open-loop strategies.The helpful comments of Professors Y. C. Ho, G. Leitmann, H. Y. Wan, Jr., and an anonymous referee are gratefully acknowledged.     

Mean-field type forward-backward doubly stochastic differential equations and related stochastic differential games

We study a kind of partial information non-zero sum differential games of mean-field backward doubly stochastic differential equations, in which the coefficient contains not only the state process but also its marginal distribution, and the cost functional is also of mean-field type. It is required that the control is adapted to a sub-filtration of the filtration generated by the underlying Brownian motions. We establish a necessary condition in the form of maximum principle and a verification theorem, which is a sufficient condition for Nash equilibrium point. We use the theoretical results to deal with a partial information linear-quadratic (LQ) game, and obtain the unique Nash equilibrium point for our LQ game problem by virtue of the unique solvability of mean-field forward-backward doubly stochastic differential equation.     

Some interesting properties of maximin strategies

Since the seminal paper of Nash (1950) game theoretic literature has focused mostly on equilibrium and not on maximin (minimax) strategies. We study the properties of these strategies in non-zero-sum strategic games that possess (completely) mixed Nash equilibria. We find that under certain conditions maximin strategies have several interesting properties, some of which extend beyond 2-person strategic games. In particular, for n-person games we specify necessary and sufficient conditions for maximin strategies to yield the same expected payoffs as Nash equilibrium strategies. We also show how maximin strategies may facilitate payoff comparison across Nash equilibria as well as refine some Nash equilibrium strategies.     

A Type of General Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations and Applications

The authors discuss one type of general forward-backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs) with It?o’s stochastic delayed equations as the forward equations and anticipated backward stochastic differential equations as the backward equations. The existence and uniqueness results of the general FBSDEs are obtained. In the framework of the general FBSDEs in this paper, the explicit form of the optimal control for linearquadratic stochastic optimal control problem with delay and the Nash equilibrium point for nonzero sum differential games problem with delay are obtained.     

On linear stochastic differential games with average cost criterions

In this paper, we consider scalar linear stochastic differential games with average cost criterions. We solve the dynamic programming equations for these games and give the synthesis of saddle-point and Nash equilibrium solutions.The authors wish to thank A. Ichikawa for providing the initial impetus and helpful advice.     

Infinite-Horizon Stochastic Differential Games with Branching Payoffs

In this paper, we consider infinite-horizon stochastic differential games with an autonomous structure and steady branching payoffs. While the introduction of additional stochastic elements via branching payoffs offers a fruitful alternative to modeling game situations under uncertainty, the solution to such a problem is not known. A theorem on the characterization of a Nash equilibrium solution for this kind of games is presented. An application in renewable resource extraction is provided to illustrate the solution mechanism.     

带随机跳跃的线性二次非零和微分对策问题

对于一类以布朗运动和泊松过程为噪声源的正倒向随机微分方程,在单调性假设下,给出了解的存在性和唯一性的结果．然后将这些结果应用于带随机跳跃的线性二次非零和微分对策问题之中,由上述正倒向随机微分方程的解得到了开环Nash均衡点的显式形式．     

Systemic Risk and Stochastic Games with Delay

We propose a model of inter-bank lending and borrowing which takes into account clearing debt obligations. The evolution of log-monetary reserves of banks is described by coupled diffusions driven by controls with delay in their drifts. Banks are minimizing their finite-horizon objective functions which take into account a quadratic cost for lending or borrowing and a linear incentive to borrow if the reserve is low or lend if the reserve is high relative to the average capitalization of the system. As such, our problem is a finite-player linear–quadratic stochastic differential game with delay. An open-loop Nash equilibrium is obtained using a system of fully coupled forward and advanced-backward stochastic differential equations. We then describe how the delay affects liquidity and systemic risk characterized by a large number of defaults. We also derive a closed-loop Nash equilibrium using a Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman partial differential equation approach.     

Deterministic Time-inconsistent Optimal Control Problems - an Essentially Cooperative Approach

A general deterministic time-inconsistent optimal control problem is formulated for ordinary differential equations. To find a time-consistent equilibrium value function and the corresponding time-consistent equilibrium control, a non-cooperative N-person differential game (but essentially cooperative in some sense) is introduced. Under certain conditions, it is proved that the open-loop Nash equilibrium value function of the N -person differential game converges to a time-consistent equilibrium value function of the original problem, which is the value function of a time-consistent optimal control problem. Moreover, it is proved that any optimal control of the time-consistent limit problem is a time-consistent equilibrium control of the original problem.     

A general characterization of the mean field limit for stochastic differential games

The mean field limit of large-population symmetric stochastic differential games is derived in a general setting, with and without common noise, on a finite time horizon. Minimal assumptions are imposed on equilibrium strategies, which may be asymmetric and based on full information. It is shown that approximate Nash equilibria in the n-player games admit certain weak limits as n tends to infinity, and every limit is a weak solution of the mean field game (MFG). Conversely, every weak MFG solution can be obtained as the limit of a sequence of approximate Nash equilibria in the n-player games. Thus, the MFG precisely characterizes the possible limiting equilibrium behavior of the n-player games. Even in the setting without common noise, the empirical state distributions may admit stochastic limits which cannot be described by the usual notion of MFG solution.     

Program Absorption Operators in the Theory of Nonzero-Sum Differential Games

This paper is devoted the Nash equilibrium payoffs for differential games. The Nash equilibrium is one of the key concepts in the theory of noncooperative nonzero–sum two-person games. The Nash equilibrium is broadly applicable in economics as well as in biology and in, particularly, in ecology.     

一种n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在性判别法

本首先给出了n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在的充要条件。然后给出n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在性的一种判别方法。最后在判别纯策略纳什均衡存在的条件下，给出判定该静态博弈存在多少纯策略纳什均衡以及哪些纯策略组合是纯策略纳什均衡(解)的方法。